Toe and ballet slipper



March 5, 1929. s, CAPEZIO 1,704,281

V'rola AND BALLT SLIPPER Filed 0013.122, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet l March 5', 1929.`

S. CAPEZIO 'we AND BALLET sLIPrEn Filed ont. 22, lzv z sheets-sneer 2 'NVENTOR Salva fore Capez ATTORNEYS `Patented Mar. 5, 1.929.

UNITED STATES s-ALvA'roEE 'cAPEzId `or EAST` .rAT'EEsoiL NEW JERSEY.'

TOE AND BALLET SLIPPEB.

`Application led October 22, 1927.' Serial No. 227,907.

This invention relates to a ballet slipper for toedancers and has special reference to the provision of an improved toe construction for such ballet slippers. v

As is well known, ballet or dancing slippers embody a stiffened or box toe structure designed specially to support or sustain the thrust and weight of the dancer in toe dancing position. The stiifened or box toe structure in addition to performing the function of rigidly supporting thedancers weight and aiding to maintain the form and shape of the dancing slipper, serves to `provide a relatively hard outer toe section and surface which is Well adapted for engagement with a dancing support or floor, particularly under pressure of the dancers weight, such staff'- ened outer toe section being subject to the minimum frictional resistance and deforma- 2o tion during the act of dancing.

These stiifened or box toe structures, are however, hard on the foot of the toe dancer ;v and in order to ease, soften and cushion the engagement of the toe of the dancers l foot .with the toe structure of the dancing slipper it has been su gested to embody in or incorporate with t e` slipper box toe a cushioning medium or device. These priorl cushion toestructures, however, do lnot adequately meetv the reduirements or desiderata l of a ballet slipper, since they have been designed without full regard given to both the cushioning and stiifenmg characteristics desired for the toe construction.

' For effectively solving the problem, it is i desired that the outer toe section present a relatively stiff and external support for thev slipper and a hard dancing surface for the floor, and that the cushioning section or medium present a relatively a soft and yieldable support for the dancers toe, and that both of these stiflened and cushioning sections be permitted to perform their functions independently and in combination Without sacrificing one for the other. It is there- Yfore a prime object of my present invention to provide a cushion toe for a ballet slipper embodying a stiened outer toe section and a cushioning inner section designed andarranged to provide the necessary hard outer dancing surface and slipper support and the relatively soft and yieldableinternal support for the dancers toe.

Another serious defect'in ballet or toe dancing slippers of the prior art resides in the' absence or lack of a suitable reinforce- CTL ment for the dancing section of the slip er toe. These slippers are usually provi ed with an outer cover or layer of a finished material such as vsilk or satin which becomes readily frayed, mutilated andtorn, particularly over the front section of the toe, which is due to the grinding and wearing impact of the stiifened toe structure with the dancv ing floor. This frayinor and tearing of the outer or cover layer of the. toe produces a ragged and unsightly appearance and materially shortens the life of a slipper, and the slipper is usually discarded although the remaining part `of the slipper may still be in good condition. To lengthen the li'feof the `slipper' and to improve its appearance, it

,invention to provide a stitched reinforcement for the dancing toe area of a ballet slipper constructed and designed to produce Aa neat and finished toe, the stitched formation being made such an integral part of the toe and the layer or layers of material composing the same as to produce a wear-resisting and durable toe construction. It is a corollary object of the invention to design a dancing toe structure which may be worn through several layers Without becoming frayed or torn, this object being accomplished by the provision of a plurality of toe layers, through the bodies of which is incorporated a stitched formation, which formation provides a further and outer layer of a wear-resisting surface. It is a still further and corollary object of the invention to construct the reinforced toe by the stitched Vformation so as to aid in securing a further and resilient stiiening of the box toe sectioIE vTo the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as will hereinafter appear, my linvention consists in the elements and their relation one to the other, as hereinafter more particularly described and sought to be defined in the claims, reference beinlg had to l the accompanying drawings whic show the preferred embodiment of my invention, and in which:

y Fig. 1 is a view of the slipper shown in l toe dancing position with a part broken away to show the interior construction thereof,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged front elevational View of the saine,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged View taken in cross secion in the plane of the line 33, Fig. 2, an

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are views showing parts of the upper of the slipper and other parts incorporated thereinto in the process of making and constructing the finished slipper shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings.

Referring now more in detail to the drawings and having reference first to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 thereof, the toe dancing slipper of my invention is shown to comprise a toe structure embodying a stiffened outer toe section generally designated as A and a cushioning section generally designated as B arranged interiorly of the stiffened outer toe section A, the arrangement being such that the stifened outer toe section A presents a relatively hard and stiffened external support for the slipper, and the cushioning section B presents a relatively soft and yieldable internal support for the dancers toe during the act of toe dancing, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

The ballet slipper comprises an upperv generally designated as 10 made up of a plurality of layers of fabric, described more particularly hereinafter, which' are sewed by lines of stitching 11 (see Fig. 3) to an arched sole 12, while the upper is stretched over a last, after which the slipper is turned and the shank 13 affixed interiorly thereto. The upper 10 is provided with the usual bow fastening means or cord 14 which is threaded through the yoke-shaped encircling channel 15.

The slipper upper 10 consists yof a plu- 'rality of layers of material including an outer or cover layer 16 made of a finished fabric such as silk or satin, or the like, anda pair of lining layers 17 and 18, these layers being secured together at their lower ends and fastened to the sole 12 by the aforesaid stitches 11, and being fastened together at their upper ends by being stitched as at 19 to the cord or ribbon channel 15. The stiffened box toe A is produced by incorporating in the ballet slipper over the whole toe section thereofa plurality of sheets of material such as 2() and 21, preferably made of canvas, which are impregnated or coated with a paste which causes the canvas layers or sheets to harden and stiffen upon drying, resulting in the Vdesired stiffened toe. The stiifening sheets 20 and 21 are preferably arranged as shown between the outer cover layer 16 and .the first lining layer 17, and if desired, the

stiffening layers are affixed'to the cover and Alining layers at the contiguous faces with either a hardening or stiffening paste or a flexible cement.

ifm/aaai example as compacted cotton which is made thickest at the center and .which is suitably skived at the circumferential edge to give the same the proper body and shape. To obtain the desired object of the invention the cushioning pad B is arranged between the stiifened outer toe section A and the toe extremities of the dancers foot; and pref erably this pad is inserted between the lining layers 17 and 18 at the frontal toe section of the slipper, as is clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings. ln the manufacture of the slippers this pad B is inserted after the shoe is removed from the last and turned, the pad B being then placed against vthe lining 17, after which the lining 18 is arranged in positionprior to the attachment of the shank 13 to the slipper.

By means of this recited construction itwill be seen that the cushioning section and the stiffening section of the toeeffectively cooperate one with the other, the stiffening section A being arranged eXteriorly of the cushioning section B so that it effectively serves its intended purpose of forming a hard and relatively stiff external supportfor the slipper and a correspondingly hard surface for the dancing engagement with the floor. Conversely7 it will be manifest that the cushioning section B being arranged interiorly of the stiffening section A serves in turn its intended purpose of softening the impact of the dancers toe and providing a yieldable and cushioning support therefor.

For reinforcing the dancing toe area and for providing the wear-resisting and durable characteristics thereof, my invention further includes the provision of the stitch formation C incorporated in' and stitched through the body of the outer or cover layer of the slipper upper forming a substantiallyintegral we aring part thereof. rThe slipper toe comprises a front section 22 and an underneath 0r bot tom section 23 which extends inwardly a substantial distance from said front section 22, as clearly shown for example in Figs. 1 and 3 ofthe drawings, each of these sections being at various times in contact with the dancing floor surface, as will be evident. To provide the optimum reinforcement over the entirc wearing area the stitch formation C is incorporated in the toe so as to cover the toe areas of both said front and bottom sections 22 and 23. as will. be clear from a consideration of such figures as 1 and 3 of the drawings.

lreferably, the outer cover layer 16 is reinforced and a substantial body is provided for the stitch formation by the provision of one and preferably a plurality of backing layers 24, 211 (shown herein as three in number) which backing layers are arranged preferably underlying the outer cover 16 and between the same and the first canvas sheet 2() overthe entire area of the stitch formation.

forced toe portion is made.

The affected toe section of the cover 16 and the backing layers 24, 24 are stitched together by preferably closely arranged stitching threads, producing the configuration or stitch formation shown in the drawings. These stitches are incorporated in and run completely through all 'of the layers of the material, and When finished not only unite and bind these layers togethe-r integrally, but present both outer and inner superposed layers of stitches, the outermost layer defining a first wearing surface. The stitch formation may be given any contour or design, and for simplicity of manufacture I prefer to run the outer threads 25, 25 on both sidesof a median plane of the slipper longitudinally and substantially parallel to such median plane.

In Figs. 4 to 6 of the drawings I show the upper of the slipper prior to its attachment to the sole and the manner inwhich the rein- The three backing layersl24, 24 of the reinforcement may take a configuration such as shown in Fig. 6

of the drawings, providing an enlarged por-v tion 24a at one end and an elongated or tongue portion 24, 24b at the other end thereof. These backing layers may be made of a suitable material such as buckskin skived at the edges or may be made of canvas, .the successive layers being of different and graduated dimensions such as shown in full lines in Fig. 6 of the drawings and dotted lines in Fig. 5 thereof, all for the purpose of providing a gradually diminishing body from the center towards the edges of the reinforced toe section. The plurality of backing layers 24 are superposed on the rear face 16"L of the outer cover 16 of the upper and these layers are stitched together -as already described, pro-l ducing the formation, the front and rear l views of which are shown in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings. tongue sectionsy 24b of the reinforcement provide a suitable strengtheningtab for the cover or outermost layer of the upper, permitting the same to be firmly stretched over the lastbefore the turning operation, this being an important advantage gained by the provision of the reinforcement at the bottom portion of the toe. In Fig. 4 of the drawings I indicate by the dash-dotted line 26 the line of division between the enlarged or bulbous portion 24* of the reinforcement which forms the front of the toe in the completed construction and the tongue shaped portion 24:h which forms the bottom of the toe in the completed construction. Y

After producing the stitched reinforcement the two canvas sheets or layers 20 and'21, substantially of the configuration shown in Fig. 6 'of the drawings, are affixed as already described to the rear face of the reinforced cover 16 and in between the same and the 1in- Itwill. be noted that the,

ingsection 17. Y In the assembling of the shoe or slipper, the upper so formed is then stretched over a last and all of the layers of the upper save the innermost lining 18 are bodying the improved cushion and reinforced toe construction of my present invention and `the many advantages thereofwill, in the main,

be fully apparent from the above detailed description thereof. It will be seen that the relative arrangement and combined construction of the stiil'ened portion A andthe cushioning section B of the toe yields astructure which affords the maximum or optimum comfort to the dancer by interiorly cushioning the dancers toe and which permits the obtaining of the desired relatively hard and stiff external supportof the slipper and relatively hard dancinr surface therefor. It will be further seen that by incorporating the stitched reinforcement in the toe section of the slipper, the reinforcement is made substantiall integral with (and for a substantial thicliness of) the upper at the toe section thereof so that even though the surface v 'of the toe becomesfrayed or worn, the inforcementdends attractiveness to the slipper,

particularly when the stitches are made into an ornamental design, the ornamental and attractive appearance being through long periods of use.

It will also be apparent that while I have shown and described my invention in the referred form, many changes and modiiicatlons may be made in the structure disclosed without departing fromthe spirit of the inven-l tion, defined in the following claims.

1. In a ballet slipper for toe dancers, a toe having a stifened outer toe section and a cushioning section arranged interiorly of the stifl'ened outer toe section, the arrangement being such that the stiifened outer toe section presents a relatively hard and stiff external lmaintained riorly to said layer, and a cushioning section arranged interiorly of the stiffened outer toe section, the arrangement being such that the' stiffened outer toe section presents a relatively hard and stiff external support for the slipper and the cushioning section presents a relatively soft and yieldable internal support for the dancers toe during the act of toe dancing.

3. In a ballet slipper for toe dancers. a toe comprising a stiffened outer toe section em- .bodying an outer layer of finished material and a plurality of layers of canvas impregnated With a stiffening material attached interiorly to said finished layer, and a cushioning section arranged interiorly of the stiffened oiiter toe section, the arrangement being such that the stiffened outer toe section presents a relatively hard and stiff external support for the slipper and the cushioning section presents a relatively soft and yieldable internal support for the dancers toe during the act of toe dancing.

4. In a ballet slipper for toe dancers, a toe having a stiffened outer toe section, a flexible inner lining and a cushioning section arranged interiorly of the stiffened outer toe section and between the same and the inner lining, the arrangement being such that the stiffened outer.toe section presents a relatively hard and stiff support for the slipper and the cushioning section and lining present a relatively7 soft and yieldable support for the dancers toe during the act oftoe dancing.

5. In a ballet slipper for toe dancers, a toe comprising a stiffened outer toe section having a stitched reinforced toe surface, and a cushioning section arranged interiorly of the stifened outer toe section, the arrangement being such that the stiffened outer toe section presents a relatively hard and stiff external support for the slipper and the cushioning section ,presents a relatively soft and yieldable internal support for the dancers toe during the act of toe dancing.

-6. In a ballet slipper for toe dancers, a toe comprising a stiffened outer toe section embodying an outer or cover layer, a plurality of stifening canvas layers next adjacent thereto and a. lining layer contiguous to the canvas layers, a iiexible inner lining layer, and a cushioning pad arranged interiorly of the stiffened outer toe section and between the two lining layers, the arrangement being such that the stiffened outer toe segcton presents a relatively hard and stiff external support for the slipper and the cushioning pad and inner lining present a relatively soft and yieldable internal support for the dancers toe during the act of toe dancing.

7. A ballet slipper for toe dancers comprising an upper having an outer cover layer, a reinforcement for the toe portion of said cover layer, and a layer of stitches superposed on, incorporated infand stitched through the reinforced toe portion of said outer cover layer, said layer of stitches covering the toe area normally in contact With a dancing surface during the act of toe dancing and defining a stiff, hard and durable exterior dance wearing surface.

8. A ballet slipper for toe dancers comprising an upper having an outer cover layer, a reinforcement for the toe portion of said cover layer and a stitch formation incorporated in and stitched through the body of said reinforced toe portion, said stitch formation presenting an exterior superposed dance Wearing surface.

9. A ballet slipper for toe dancers comprising an upper having an outer cover layer,a reinforcement for the toe portion of said cover layer, and a substantially continuous layer of closely arranged stitches superposed on, incorporated in and stitched through the reinforced toe portion of said outer cover layer, said layer of stitches covering the toe` area normally in contact With a dancing surface during the act 0f toe dancing and presenting a relatively hard and durable exterior dance Wearing surface.

10. In a ballet slipper for toe dancers, a toe having a reinforced outer toe section and a cushioning inner section, said reinforced outer toe section including an upper cover layer and a layer of stitches superposed on, incorporated in and stitched through the body of said upper cover layer.

11. In aballet slipper for toe dancers, a reinforced-cushion toe comprising an upper cover layer and a formation of stitches superposed on, Vincorporated in and stitched through the body of said upper cover'` layer, said formation of stitches covering the toe area normally in contact with a dancing surface during the act of toe dancing and pre# senting a relatively hard and reinforced exterior dance wearing surface, and a cushioning means associated with said toe to cushion the toe of the dancer.

l2. In a ballet slipper for toe dancers, a toe comprising a stiffened outer toe section embodying an outer layer of a finished material and a stiffening reinforcement attached interiorly to said layer, and a cushioning section arranged interiorly of the stiifened outer toe section, the arrangement being such that the stiffened outer toe4 section presents a relatively hard and sti external support for the slipperand the cushioning section pre-V sents a relatively soft and yieldable internal llO support for the dancers toe during the act of toe dancing, and a reinforcement for said outer toe section comprising a formation of stitches incorporated in the body of said outer layer over the toe dancing area thereof.

13. In a ballet slipper for toe dancers, a reinforced toe comprising an upper cover layer, abacking layer arranged at the toe portion of the upper cover layer, and a stitch 'formation incorporated in and stitched through the bodies of both said upper and backing layers, said stitch formation presenting an exterior superposed dance Wearing surface.

14. In a ballet slipper for toe dancers, a reinforced toe comprising an upper cover layer,a backing layer underlying the cover layer at the toe portion thereof, and a stitch formation incorporated in and lstitched throughthe bodies of both said cover and backing layers, said stitch formation presenting an exterior superposed dance Wearing surface.

l5. In a ballet slipper for toe dancers, a reinforced toe comprising an upper cover layer, a plurality of backing layers underlying the cover layer at the toe portion thereof, and a stitch formation incorporated in and stitched through the bodies of said outer and backing layers, said stitch formation presenting an exterior superposed dance Wearing surface.

16. In a ballet slipper for toedancers, a reinforced cushion toe comprising an upper cover layer, at least one backing layer underlying the cover layer at the toe portion thereof, a reinforcing stitch formation incorporated in and stitched through the bodies of both said outer and backing layers, and a cushion pad arranged interiorly of the reinforced layers.

17. In a ballet slipper for toe dancers, a reinforced stiffened cushion toe comprising an upper cover layer, at least one backing layer underlying the cover layer at the toe portion thereof, a reinforcing stitch formation inco orated in and stitched through the bodies of oth said outer and backing layers,

stiifening sheets arranged next adjacent to said reinforced layers, an inner flexible lining and'a cushioning pad arranged between said stilfening sheets and said lnner lining.

18. In a ballet slipper for toe dancers, a toe having a front section and an underneath or bottom section extending inwardly a substantial distance from said front section, said sections embodying an outer cover, a reinforcement for said toe, and a stitch formation incorporated in and stitched through the body of the out-er cover of said slipper, said stitch formation covering the reinforced toe area in both said front and bottom sections of the toe which are normally in contact with a dancing surface during the act of toe dancing and presenting a relatively hard and durable exterior dance Wearing surface.

19. In a ballet slipper for toe dancers, a toe having a front section and an underneath or bottom section extending inwardly a substantial distance from said front section, said sections embodying an outer or cover layer and a backing sheet or layer underlying the same, and a reinforcement for said toe comprising a stitch formation incorporated in and stitched through the bodiesof said cover and backing layers, said stitch formation covering the toe area in both said front and bottom toe sections which are normally in contact With a dancing surface during the act of toe dancing and presenting a relatively hard and durable exterior dance Wearing surface.

20. In a ballet slipper for toe dancers, a toe having a front section and an underneath or bottom section extending inwardly a substantial distance from said front section, said section embodying an outer or cover layer and a plurality of graduated backing layers underlying the same, and a reinforcement for said toe comprising a stitch formation incorporated in and stitched through the bodies of said cover and backing layers, said stitch formation covering the toe area in both said front and bottom sections Which are normally in contact with a dancing surface during the act of toe dancing and presenting 'a relatively hard and durable exterior dance Wearing surface. v

Signed at New York in the county of NevsT York and State of New York, October A. D. 192

SALVATORE CAPEZIO. 

